Abstract
Abstract This study seeks to quantify the effects of a number of factors on the nocturnal air temperature field in a medium-sized central European city located in complex terrain. The main data sources consist of mobile air temperature measurements and a geographical database. Temperature measurements were taken along several profiles through the city centre and were made under a clear sky with no advection. Altogether nine sets of detailed measurements, in all seasons, were assembled. Altitude, quantity of vegetation, density of buildings and the structure of the transportation (road) system were considered as explanatory variables. The result is that the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the density of buildings were the most important factors, each of them explaining a substantial part (more than 50%) of overall air temperature variability. Mobile measurements with NDVI values as a covariate were used for interpolation of air temperature for the entire study area. The spatial variability of nocturnal air temperature and UHI intensity in Brno is the main output presented. Air temperatures interpolated from mobile measurements and NDVI values indicate that the mean urban heat island (UHI) intensity in the early night in summer is at its highest (approximately 5 °C) in the city centre and decreases towards the suburban areas.
Highlights
The urban heat island is possibly the most important specific characteristic of urban climate, a phenomenon that relates to the higher temperatures that prevail in urban areas compared to the surrounding rural environment (Arnfield, 2003)
Our results are in agreement with similar studies that conclude that the quantity of vegetation, and partly the percentage of builtup areas, are the most important factors affecting the spatial distribution of air temperature in urban areas (Unger et al, 2011)
As discussed in Stewart (2011), figures for urban heat island (UHI) intensity depend strongly on the methodology used for UHI identification and for its estimation
Summary
The urban heat island is possibly the most important specific characteristic of urban climate, a phenomenon that relates to the higher temperatures that prevail in urban areas compared to the surrounding rural environment (Arnfield, 2003). More specific knowledge of the most important factors impacting upon UHI intensity may contribute significantly to mitigation of its negative effects. Such effects are largely related to the occurrence of heat waves that may be of longer duration and more intense in an urban climate, with direct impacts on human health (Kyselý, 2010; Dousset et al, 2011), including increasing urban fatalities (Peng et al, 2011; Laidii et al, 2012)
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